Ready To Shine: Zack Filler

ZACK FILLER

“For me Portfolio Night 9 is my second time. It’s sort of like “Portfolio Night II: Unfinished Business”. I see it as an opportunity to reconnect with some of the creative directors from last year and to meet new ones. It’s a chance to sell myself and my ideas hopefully that works because this year I’m leaving it all on the field.”

Why is there so much bad advertising out there?

“I think there’s a lot of bad advertising out there because some people in the industry have trouble selling their ideas to the client. If you look at a lot of online student portfolios, there’s a plenty of interesting ideas or, at the very least, ideas that are better than some of the middle of the road advertising. There isn’t an absence of interesting ideas, they are just not getting produced due to a lack of salesmanship. It’s part of the job of any creative or agency to build trust and understanding with the client (which is easier said than done). If this happens, brands are a lot more receptive to ground breaking ads (in my humble inexperienced opinion). When good ideas aren’t produced (and that can lead to fake ads at places like Cannes) it lowers the integrity of the entire industry.”

If you could skip advertising and take a totally different career path, what would you see yourself doing?

“Without a doubt, I’d become a pit master.”

Which brand would you sell your soul to work on?

“I would love to work on Audi. It’s an amazing product, what else can I say…”

.What’s your cure for writer’s block?

“My go-to technique has to be procrastination. Once I’ve exhausted that option I usually go to the library and look at books about advertising to see if anything inspires me. After that I might try using different literary devices to create headlines like, similes, irony, paradox, etc…..Until something sticks. If all that doesn’t work, I might make a stew-cooking can be a great way to relax and inspire.”

What song pretty much captures how you are feeling about your advertising career right now?

“Steely Dan’s ‘Any World that I’m Welcome To.‘ I think the song captures my desire to work for an agency and my desire to do whatever it takes to fit in and be successful. Of course, Steely Dan being well known for their dark sarcastic humor and studio perfectionism sums up my sensibilities perfectly.